Odin

Chapter 9

Ignoring the looks of curious passersby, Simone made her way into the square she knew she’d find at least Malice, if not more of her family in. Barefoot and filthy, her dress stained and dirty, she held her head high as she marched through the gates and starting looking around.

Malign found her before she found him. “Simone!” he shouted, rushing her way.

Simone turned toward the sound of his voice, and as the crowd of people between them cleared he was only a few feet from her and coming fast. “Malign,” she said, her voice cracking as he swept her into his arms, holding her against his body as she hugged him back.

“Are you well? Are you unhurt? Tell me you are unhurt!” he demanded.

“I am unhurt,” she assured him, just as Venom rushed to embrace her as well.

“We have searched for you every day and night!” Venom said, pulling her in to hug her, too.

“I’m sorry I frightened you,” she said.

“Malice and the others are out searching for you right now. We stayed in the square looking for you or at the very least, the Demon, in the hopes of forcing him to bring us to you,” Malign said.

“Where is he? He will regret taking you from us,” Venom growled, drawing the hesitant glance from one or two nearby humans.

“He’s not here.”

“How did you get away?” Venom asked.

“I just walked away. He didn’t harm me — not physically, he didn’t…” she stopped herself mid-sentence before shaking her head as if clearing her mind of the whole thing. “None of it matters. I’m home now. I just want to go home,” Simone said, looking from Venom to Malign.

“Absolutely. Let’s go. You were the only reason we were here today. We’ll take you home so you can get cleaned up and get some rest,” Malign said.

Venom had already hurried away to pack up their supplies and offerings they’d put out for sale. It took only a few minutes before he came back toward them, pulling both his and Malign’s filled wagons behind him. “Let’s go.”

The Gargoyles walked one on either side of her, careful to keep her between the two of them, and even took care to walk around shadows that fell on sides of the streets they traversed. It would have been comical if she wasn’t so upset. After the third time of them steering their path away from a dense shadow that fell in front of them thanks to a shoppe standing a little closer to the street than the rest, she finally looked over at Malign. “You don’t have to keep avoiding the shadows. He’s not coming back for me.”

“How do you know he won’t be back?” Malign asked. “I would not give you up so easily!”

“He doesn’t want me. He left me at a convent. The shadows won’t do us any harm, because he won’t be hiding in them.”

Malign and Venom shared a look that said quite a lot without the use of actual words.

“And when he finds you’re no longer at the convent he left you in, you really think he won’t be back for you?”

“He doesn’t want me, Venom,” Simone said flatly.

“He came for you once. We can’t be too careful,” Venom insisted.

“It’s wasted energy,” she answered tiredly.

“Don’t worry, Simone. Whatever comes, we will be ready this time,” Malign said.

Simone nodded.

Venom and Malign shared another look before Venom reached up and pulled an apple off a tree they were passing. He rubbed it on his cloak, then handed it to Simone. “Are you hungry, Simone?”

“Very,” she said, gratefully accepting the apple from him.

“Did he not feed you?!” Malign demanded.

Simone shook her head slowly. “It didn’t come up. I didn’t realize until just now how hungry I am.”

“While you bathe, we’ll get you food. Now that you’re back with us, we won’t be so careless again,” Malign said, taking her hand in his as they made their way home.

A short while later Simone was ensconced in what was now a cooling bath right in the middle of their hideaway. She sat in the large tub with water almost up to her chest, her knees bent, as she reclined in the deep, but small tub and rested her head against its back. Her wet hair — already washed — was pinned on the top of her head.

“Would you like a fresh tub with warmer water?” Venom asked.

She looked over at Venom. “You don’t have to go to the trouble.”

“I don’t mind. Here, step out…” he insisted, holding out his hand for her to steady herself as she rose from the water and stepped out.

Simone simply did what he said. She didn’t want to discuss anything at all. She waited while Venom lifted the tub from its new resting place in the center of the long underground chamber to empty its contents into the trench at the opposite far end to be carried out by the natural flow of fresh water. He was back a few moments later, replacing the tub then filling it again with six buckets of water that had been warming around the fire. She stood nude, looking around the expanse of their underground shelter and marveled at the changes that had taken place since she’d been gone. Almost every corner formerly in shadows, was now brightly lit with candles and lanterns. Their bedrolls had been pulled toward the center of the space, along with every chair, every storage shelf, and anything else that had once lined the walls. “You’ve made sure there are no shadows here anywhere,” she commented.

Venom put down the last bucket, now empty and nodded as he smiled at her. “We will not take chances where you are concerned again,” Venom said.

“He’s not coming back, Venom,” Simone said resignedly.

“You don’t know that. None of us do.” He put his hand into the water then turned toward her with a smile on his face. “It’s ready. Not too hot.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand to steady herself as she stepped back into the tub. She groaned as she sank back into the water and closed her eyes after resting her head on the back of the tub again.

“I don’t know what’s taking Malign so long to return with Malice and the others. There’s no reason for you to wait, though. We have cheese and bread here. Enough to take the edge off your hunger at least. Would you like some, or would you rather wait for them to return?”

“Cheese and bread sound wonderful.”

Venom cut off a large hunk of cheese, tore off a piece of bread and placed the cheese in the middle of the bread, making a cheese sandwich out of it. “Here,” he said, presenting it to her proudly.

“Thank you, Venom.” Simone sat in the warm water, enjoying her simple meal until the water began to chill again. Then finished off her food, and stood up. “I’m ready to get out and call it a night.”

Venom looked at her with a puzzled expression. “You know it’s not night yet, don’t you?”

“For me it is.”

Venom went to Simone’s bedroll and searched through her things until he found the soft cloth she used to dry herself with after her baths, unfolded it and brought it back to her. “We tried to keep your things organized just as you’d left them when we moved them to the center of the room.”

“That’s very thoughtful, Venom. I appreciate it,” she said as she dried herself, then walked over to the spot they’d chosen for her belongings. She smiled sadly when she saw that she would now be sleeping in the center of a circle. The rest of the circle was made of the bedrolls of each of the Gargoyles, and they surrounded hers. She looked through the small selection of clothes she had until she found a loose skirt and blouse, slipped them on, then crawled onto her pallet and pulled her blanket up over her body. “I’m going to get some rest, Venom. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll keep watch, and the others will be back soon.”

“Thank you,” Simone said, snuggling into her pillow and closing her eyes.

“While you sleep, I’ll clean your dress for you.”

Simone’s eyes popped open and she stared at the dress in Venom’s hand. “Throw it out.”

“It’s your favorite,” Venom said.

“Not anymore. Don’t waste your time cleaning it; just throw it out.”

“Alright,” Venom said, tossing the dress to the side of the refuse they’d later take out to dispose of. He sat down quietly to watch over Simone while he waited for Malign to return with Malice, Bitter, and Loathe. Something was very different about their Simone. She was withdrawn and closed off, but he sensed anger inside her, too. Not the kind of anger that makes you want to fight, though. It was the kind of anger that makes you just turn your back on whatever it is that has made you angry. The kind of anger that is born of pain and disappointment. The kind that breeds sadness. Maybe that’s what he was sensing, sadness and disappointment. Whatever she’d experienced while she was away had changed her, and he was worried they might not ever get their wild, confident, high-spirited Simone back.

~~~

“Are you sure that she’s well?” Malice asked as he walked hurriedly along beside Malign.

“Yes. She said that she is unharmed,” Malign answered.

“Where was she?” Malice asked.

“She didn’t say. Just that he left her at a convent and she simply walked away from it.”

“Why would he leave her at a convent?” Bitter asked, following along with them.

“I don’t know, but she said that he won’t be back because he doesn’t want her.”

“But…” Loathe started.

“That’s all I know. She didn’t give any additional details and I promised to return with food. So, I’m going to get her food, I’ll meet you at home shortly.”

“We have food at home!”

“I’m going to get her the sweet cakes she loves,” Malign said.

“There’s a place just up ahead that has sweets. We’ll get some there,” Malice insisted, taking hold of Malign’s sleeve and pulling him along with them.

A while later they finally saw the bridge up ahead that hid their underground lair from the rest of the world. With a renewed energy in their step, they all rushed the entrance. As they all finally made their way inside, they faced an angry Venom.

“Quiet! Simone is resting!”

“Malign says she is unharmed — is she?” Malice asked.

“Yes, because I would lie about her being harmed,” Malign snapped.

“You’ve lied about other things concerning Simone in the past,” Bitter said.

“That was none of your business!” Malign growled.

“It was, and is our business. You risked driving her away with your selfishness,” Loathe answered disdainfully.

“Enough! We all know it should not have happened. And regardless of the fact he’s my brother, I put an end to it before it could end tragically,” Malice said with force, despite the fact that he tried to keep his voice hushed.

Loathe glowered at Malign, who glared back at him.

“She wanted a bath; I refilled the tub two times for her. Each time she stepped out and waited. There was not an injury on her anywhere. I am confident that she was telling the truth… she was not injured,” Venom said.

“Did she say anything else at all?” Malice asked.

“Only that there was no need for worry because he wouldn’t be coming for her. She said that he didn’t want her. She didn’t seem relieved. Instead, she seemed disappointed. I thought I sensed a bit of anger, too, but not enough for her to act on it. She just seemed tired.”

The group of them moved closer to Simone with Malice in the lead. He knelt beside her and gently pushed her hair from her face.

Simone opened her eyes, looking around herself with alarm before she realized where she was.

“You’re back,” he said, smiling at her.

“I’ve brought you some sweets,” Malign said, pushing the box he carried in front of Malice so that Simone could see it.

“Thank you,” she said groggily. She sat up slowly, and accepted the small box of sweets as she tried to make eye-contact with each of the males who was so concerned about her.

“Is there anything you need?” Bitter asked.

“No, thank you,” she said, blinking her eyes dramatically as she tried to focus better. “I’m sorry, I’m just so tired.”

“Simone is there anything we should know?” Malice asked.

Simone opened the box that now sat on her lap and took out a cream puff. She took a bite, before shaking her head.

“If there is anything that we’re not aware of, you should share it with us so that we can better protect you,” Malice said.

“There’s nothing,” she said quietly. She didn”t meet Malice’s gaze as she took another bite of her cream puff.

“How did you manage to free yourself?” Malice asked.

“He left me in a convent. Once he was gone, I walked away.”

“He will return looking for you,” Loathe said.

“No, he won’t. He doesn’t want me. He left me at the convent to be rid of me,” Simone said.

“If he wanted to be rid of you, why not just bring you back to us?” Bitter asked.

Simone raised her head and looked at Bitter regretfully. “He said that I should not be with a colony of Gargoyles. He said I should be in a convent where I will be safe.”

“That makes no sense! We are your family!” Malice said. “We’ve sheltered you and watched you grow into the woman you are.”

“I know, and I told him that! He’s a fool. A selfish, short-sighted, judgmental, cold, unfeeling, hateful male and I will not ever forgive him,” she said angrily.

Malice looked at her curiously, then turned to look at his brethren with a surprised expression before turning his attention back to Simone. She popped the last of her cream puff into her mouth, swiped angrily at her eyes with both hands and flopped back down on her pillow. She sighed deeply as she pulled her blanket up and snuggled in to go back to sleep.

“It’ll be fine, Simone. You’re home now, and we’ve taken measures to be sure that you’ll stay here. He will not snatch you away again.”

“Good. I hate him.” She peeked over the top of her blanket to pick up the small box of sweets she’d left beside her bedroll and placed it beside her pillow. “Don’t eat my cream puffs.”

“They’ll still be there when you wake,” Venom promised, plopping down beside her to watch over her while she slept.

She angrily tucked her blanket around her body and head before she finally settled in to try to sleep again.

Malice reached out and touched her shoulder before he walked back toward the opposite end of their home. Once all but Venom had joined him there, he took a moment to look at each meaningfully. “She is not telling us everything.”

“What do you mean?” Malign asked.

“She’s angry. Not at having been taken, but at being returned,” Bitter said.

“Or maybe it’s just at being left at the convent instead of returned here, so she had to walk alone to get back to us,” Malign said.

“Possibly. But I think there are still things left unsaid,” Malice said.

“Do you think she wanted to stay with him?” Loathe asked.

“If she did, and he sent her away, it would explain her tears,” Bitter said.

Venom jumped up from his place on the ground beside her bedroll and hurried to them. “She smells,” he whispered when he reached them.

“What? She does not smell offensively!” Malign said defensively.

“When she was bathing I noticed. After twice in the tub, her scent was not right. She bathed using the same soaps and oils she always uses, and still she doesn’t smell like herself.”

“Did she mate him?!” Loathe demanded.

“Shh! Quiet! We don’t want her to know we suspect such a thing. And it doesn’t matter at this point. Our Simone is back and that is all that matters. We protected her as a little child, and we raised her. We will not turn her away regardless of what she’s done or hasn’t done. She would not turn us away regardless of our actions. We are family,” Malice insisted.